Morris Animal Foundation has been providing lifesaving veterinary care to the highly endangered mountain gorillas since 1986. The Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project (MGVP) began after the late anthropologist Dr. Dian Fossey, famously depicted in the Hollywood film “Gorillas in the Mist,” asked us to help save the species from extinction. At that time, only 248 mountain gorillas were known to exist in the Virunga Mountains of Africa. Fortunately, in the early 1990s a second gorilla population was confirmed in the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest in Uganda. Because of their rarity, not a single mountain gorilla lives in captivity – and only 700 are known to exist in the wild.
MAF has dedicated more than two decades to ensuring the survival of this species. Through the MGVP’s long history of dedicated field work and innovative programs, including the Employee Health Program and IMPACT (a comprehensive health database of gorillas), the project has become a world-renowned example for conserving endangered species. Today, thanks in large part to the MGVP, mountain gorillas are the only species of great apes whose population is on the rise.
In 2005, MAF determined that the MGVP had grown beyond our capacity, and we established a partnership with The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore. The partnership moved administration of the MGVP to The Maryland Zoo and established the MGVP as its own nonprofit organization. MAF remains the MGVP’s primary source of funding, with a minimum commitment of $417,000 a year for five years. Dr. Mike Cranfield, The Maryland Zoo’s director of animal health, research, and conservation, has served as the MGVP’s project director for sevens years and continues to do so.
Working together, we will ensure the future of the MGVP and, in turn, the magnificent mountain gorillas. For more information on the MGVP, go to www.mgvp.org. To donate to MGVP through MAF, click here.
